There's too often conflation and confusion surrounding two larger principles: a. The layers of beliefs that build on each other that lead to amplified producti

There's too often conflation and confusion surrounding two larger principles: a. The layers of beliefs that build on each other that lead to amplified productivity, wealth, success, popularity and such. b. that poverty isn't an innate quality or fate, but a prison of the mind most people get attached to and will defend. They can escape it if they so choose. a.) 1. Locus-of-control - Poor people exist in world where they are made to feel like criminals and everything is a zero sum game. So, it doesn't seem to matter about saving a dollar here or a dollar there. (External locus-of-control/learned helplessness). Contrast this with people who make a game, and get a thrill, out of buying something on closeout and getting to use a coupon on top of it. Costco: it's hard to get a poverty-oriented person excited about saving money at Costco 2. Saving - People who are poor don't choose to have high Marginal Propensity to Consume (MPC), they have unmet needs and emergencies all of the time. 3. Investing and ownership - People who don't have any savings and don't have internal locus-of-control can't conceive on multiplying money with money, so they can't really build balance sheet affluence. And if workers were rational, they would consider what profits they were giving away to their employers for a pittance, and take collective action to improve their lot or form another company (co-op's/worked-owned enterprises). Also, people in a poverty-mindset will often believe that lottery tickets, celebrity or special talents (magical thinking) are their "way out." b.) Poverty isn't strictly income or balance sheet, it begins with either elements of virtuous-cycle or self-defeating, vicious-cycle attitudes. When people believe a certain way or lack confidence, they continually sabotage themselves with every choice and missed opportunity in live. On the flip-side, continued wealth is never assured: people can convince themselves they are invincible, have infinite money and/or otherwise sabotage their cash cows like pissing-off their customers.